Daeluin

Yeah, I am also lucky to live where the winters aren't so bad. On average in the heart of winter we hover above or below freezing, with occasional dips into single digits. In colder climates this is likely a much different scenario. But that doesn't mean there aren't other ways of integrating more harmoniously with the land while still retaining a sophisticated lifestyle. If this natural living trend ever reaches a critical mass in our lifetimes, it will be interesting to see how different cultures adapt in their own ways.

Also, I feel this applies to the dual cultivation of xing and ming at a very deep level. Our society itself acts in ways that separate from nature, oppose nature and rise above the flows of nature. Above I mentioned some examples of people who are deliberately trying to leave those ways behind and to merge more deeply with nature. Perhaps for those of us who are addicted to TV, need to have lights on all night and are afraid of the dark, this seems very unnatural. Many people in these patterns are also out of touch with the rhythms of their bodies. Please take this as my opinion if you disagree. So, I believe this modern way of living, which I see as being out of touch with nature, is rather primitive. And I am working on adjusting my lifestyle so that I am more integrated with nature. For myself I mainly want to be more connected to nature, do a little exploring with forest gardening, and slowly wean myself off the internet. I see this as a way of merging xing and ming, as my lifestyle greatly affects my inner balances. I also view this as a more sophisticated and sustainable way of living that will become more common in the future.

Primitive by whose standards? My particular needs and wants are my own, and in my tent I have an electric kettle, a lamp, a table, my collection of books, and what passes for a soft bed. My phone has internet. How did I come to be living this way? Honestly it was by flowing with the Tao. Was only going to be temporary, as the land I am on has a house that is being renovated. As the renovations went through multiple delays, I realized I am quite comfortable as I am, and I rather find that having less separation between myself and the sunrise, sunset and changes in weather makes me feel more sophisticated and connected to the web of life around me. Living in conditions where I need to go outside to get a feel for the weather seems rather primitive at this point. Recently the situation changed and I am getting the message to move on... at the same point I was invited to live on the land a little ways out of the city, where I am exploring plans to build a small geodesic dome. Something that requires minimal building materials while being structurally sound, is large enough for me to do my forms in, still breathes with the seasons, and keeps me dry. Easy to setup some solar panels to power a single lamp and small refrigerator. Right now that is all I need. As far as natural goes, I am merely flowing in the direction most natural for me, and I've asked that others do the same for themselves. Why prehistoric? There are entire movements of people who have woken up to the idea that living in ways that are destructive to the environment is not sustainable for our species. The way our huts and fires tend to destroy forests and create desertification over time can be seen as parasitic activity, and there are many who would prefer to live in symbiosis with the planet which sustains them. There are many ways to do this and still live in huts and have heat, but they tend to be off the electrical, water and sewer grids. Many use their intelligence to design sophisticated water filtration systems using the lay of the land. Small scale hydro-electric is very efficient, and solar panels have become very cost effective as the devices they power require less and less electricity to run. There are many new farming techniques that now recognize how mono-cropping rows and rows of the same plant tends to sap the nutrients in the earth and invite pests requiring the use of pesticides. Rather than following such practices which are oppositional to nature, people have turned to following the example of nature, and mixing species together into deliberate ecosystems designed to protect and support each other, resulting in healthier crops AND healthier land. Permaculture follows principles, just as taoism does, and adapts to its environment to provide the most benefit to both the land and to the needs of those humans tending the land. When you say this is the best we know, I'm not sure what specifically you refer to. Mental development? I would agree with that, in one sense. Right now we have a scientific understanding that precludes the influence of deluded religious beliefs and a society that for the most part is built upon the structure of scientific belief. And the internet has been excellent for the the sharing of ideas on a global scale, depending on how you look at it. At the same time our attachment to scientific reasoning tends to preclude the development of the intuition, and also seems to have trouble recognizing the earth as a living entity that is not simply there to be exploited. I am lucky to live in a rather open minded and spiritually inclined city. Here people stray from the norm and express themselves in creative ways. Rather than being judged by being different, people just accept it. It is very common for men of all ages to wear long bushy beards and women to not shave their legs and armpits. These practices aren't a fringe of society here, or a statement, people are simply living naturally, just as clean and cultured as any other people. People here feel a greater freedom to be themselves without judgment, and the city has been rated as one of the happiest places to live for many years.

When we're born we don't think. Our parents teach us by example. Often their thinking involves words. Even without words we might come to think on our own, making various connections with our minds. Thus, we might teach ourselves. Never the less it remains a choice.

Agreed, there is definitely a learning curve. The changes are subtle and complex and I am constantly finding myself surprised by them, even ones I've studied a long time. I'm discovering more how the changes work in layers of meanings.... sometimes I uncover a deeper layer and a whole new world of change unfolds. It's nice to see there is a version that is simpler and it sounds like this one might not go into the lines themselves either. I'm tempted to grab a set. R. L. Wing does a great job simplifying the I-Ching, in my opinion. The historical text is removed, but the essence is portrayed with simple but profound explanations that avoid confusion.

Contact Improv is also great for developing Ting Jin.

Ah! What a neat way of diving the I-Ching. I've shied away from yarrow stalks and coin tossing, and use the seed method instead. But this seems to be another great method, nice find! I didn't see a direct mention of the I-Ching on the product page, but that seems to be what you're getting into. Lots of great book recommendations to help with interpretations in the I Ching sub-forum here. Studying the I-Ching is very good for learning to find balance and harmony with the many changes of the tao.

At one point I found myself sitting in a cafe, very busy, lots of people walking around. I had just come from tai chi and was in a very sensitive and vulnerable state of oneness. Often when I am very sensitive I feel like a tiny boat in a raging storm in such circumstances. But this time.... I simply trusted. I was able to maintain my center and simply radiate trust and love outwards, accepting that as my field met the fields of others it would change. As this happened I felt that not only was I able to maintain my calm, I was able to merge more harmoniously into my surroundings. Rather than reacting to the ways my field was being manipulated by the busy minds of others, I trusted my energy to slip like water between their cracks and flow however they needed it to. Rather than feeling like a boat in a storm, I felt the very shape of how my field was transforming begin to form a picture of the mental/emotional scenery around me. Rather than my mind opposing theirs, my mind merged with theirs, all based on the principle of humility. If one does not attach to news being good or bad, but simply truth, why should truth have an adverse affect on us? Even "negative" truths may have a positive purpose in the long run. Who are we to judge whether the news is good or bad? If we find ourselves reacting to it, we've identified an attachment we can dissolve. If we encounter negative energy, our presence can help purify it and later on we will refine ourselves again. I think this is similar to becoming comfortable in warm huts in the winter. When we leave the safety of the warm hut, we struggle where it is not warm. I think isolation can be very healing when one is trying to recover from a sickness, but they say the immune system develops strength when it is exposed to the full gambit of life. We may heal up in our warm hut, or explore the depths of the mind in isolation, but as we learn to maintain our evolution in the natural world full of its changes, we gain strength.

Thinking is the post-celestial xing. When we cultivate the pre-celestial xing we develop intuition to such a high degree of skill that we do not need to block the mind with thinking in order to hold conversations or make decisions. With the clarity of heaven who needs to think "which way" when they can simply see the way? I know several highly developed individuals who no longer find thinking necessary or natural. It prevents seeing clearly on the subtler, more spiritual levels, which they are naturally flowing with by following the intuition.

Thinking is learned. We don't have it in the beginning. It is a choice.

Early humans didn't have fire, and lived naturally, the same as animals without presuming to better their environment. Just as caves, which have a natural emptiness, do not presume to control that which enters or leaves. Human fires and huts presume greatly upon nature. Whatever alchemy animals perform to keep warm is instinctual and natural, and does not come from a mind of contrivances. It flows with the weather without opposition. Surely, in changing my environment, I am opposing one nature in favor for another. To me one is natural and one is not. Please do not let it bother you, it is my way. I've actually been living in a tent since February. To me, there is nothing oppositional about it. Even when it is freezing out, I find I do not need to intentionally oppose the cold and find ways to warm up. Sure I have blankets, but oddly enough I find that as I spend a few days outside in the cold, my body adjusts naturally. When I live in warm huts, I may be comfortable while inside the warm huts, but as soon as I venture outside I find myself feeling very separate from nature. I have to bundle up to survive and don't like to say outside very long, and in my heart I feel that I have separated myself from nature and it is now opposing me. In addition it takes an abundance of resources to keep these huts warm and causes pollution to the environment. Human nature is very oppositional to me. As I listen to truth and explore alternatives, I flow with what feels least oppositional to me. Removing my unnatural insulation from the ebb and flow of the seasons is most natural to me and does not require me to stand against anything. Perhaps this is different for you. Please do what is natural for you.

All too often when I see a new project beginning, I see people getting stuck in the talking and planning stage. They can go in circles over and over again, and don't seem to realize they aren't making progress towards the manifesting stage of the project. I think getting the plan right is very important. Get it locked down and then get out of your head and do the work. I find this in the taoist classics as well. Understand the process fully, then do the work fully: If a meeting has a goal and a structure / plan by which to achieve the goal, then it may conclude with accomplishment. If a meeting is more of an open discussion circle, then it is about flowing where the members lead it. If the members are sincere and stay on topic and understand how to avoid unimportant tangents, the discussion may flow to the root and accomplish much. If some of the members just want to talk back and forth without a destination, then it simply follows the cycle of conditioning without arriving anywhere in particular. Often people just want to talk about things and be social, and aren't interested in changing their life situation.

Ah. Well.... at the end of Thomas Cleary's Volume IV of the Taoist Classics, the Taoist I Ching by Liu I Ming, there is an arcana section. One particular chapter seems to explore this topic: The description uses the controlling cycle of the five phases to demonstrate the conditioning process and ultimate separation of the five virtues. Then it is emphasized how truthfulness (fidelity) is at the heart of preserving virtue. Then is described beginning with truthfulness, how the controlling cycle of the five phases may be used in the process of returning the five virtues to the primordial, pure state. This is the process of refinement in energy work. It is interesting how in this process, it is necessary for one phase to rest upon and accept the work of the element which controls it. Thus the cycle maintains balance without one phase every becoming too attached to it's self and refusing to be changed when moved by its controller. Studying the virtues in this way greatly helped me understand how they all work together, AND how they tend to express themselves when one phase becomes dominant. A fire type person might be very impatient and rage on like a wild fire chasing after their desires. To truly overcome this, the water needs to be still, which requires earth, truthfulness. Ever mix a handful of dirt into a glass of water and stir it up? Over time it settles and the water becomes clear. But one must be sincere in their patience - when this fire person summons this sincerity, the water clarifies and the impatience of fire turns to social harmony and courtesy, and clarity with which to discern the wisdom. dao zhen posted a document which explores this system of virtues with the Lo Diagram, and also uses this arrangement with the magic square, which I found very revealing. Thought I'd share this as it seems to fit the theme here. Hope it helps!

Your logic is confusing to me and hurts my brain. Thus, from my perspective you are wrong and I am moving on.

Complete isolation on the other hand is also unnatural. We are humans, and most of our destinies lie in human paths. It can be helpful to reintegrate with nature for a period of time, and so get to the root of wholeness. But this isn't a selfish pursuit, and if we truly follow our nature, we likely discover we have things to share with others, in one way or another. Perhaps those who meditated in caves to the end of their days were destined to do so... or perhaps they missed out on an opportunity to create greater balance within society, and to share their awakening naturally.

We practice slowly to cultivate the energy, and build up on the softness. Over time it naturally becomes firm. How can someone emit what one does not have?

Oddly enough I am exploring plans to live in a non-insulated hut this winter, without heat. If things continue to flow that way. And I consider this merging with nature, and leaving behind my non-adaptive conditioning. Do animals build huts and fires? Do they do some sorta special alchemy to keep themselves warm? It is simply natural for their bodies to adapt to the conditions they are in. It is unnatural for us to not do the same - but instead of following nature and letting our bodies adapt, we oppose nature by contriving of ways to escape nature. This isn't transcending nature, this is creating polarity. The huts we live in are unnatural, and the empty spaces they contain are artificially separated from the natural web of life. Naturally the web of life seeps in and tries to fill these empty spaces, but they are so unnatural that what seeps in becomes unnatural as well. Thus we have problems like city rats, cockroaches, and other "parasites" that have found ways to thrive in our unnatural, unbalanced, artificial ecosystems. I recall a story of a distant relative who became rather wealthy and went travelling.... as a hobo. He would ride a bike around Europe, all his necessities strapped to it, and sleep in culverts or in the woods. Police would sometimes find him and back off when they understood he was a wealthy traveller. And so he explored as a tourist with an inside perspective, and found it quite comfortable to do so. He would come back to the states and visit family, and found it uncomfortable to sleep in a bed. His sister would find him sleeping on the floor with the window open, in the middle of winter, quite comfortably. When it gets cold in the winter, humans tend to heat things up, so they don't have to adapt to change. But that change serves a natural purpose... it brings us back into the deeper parts of our selves. This is where we find great strength and healing, and if we give it time we may find our bodies naturally learn to adapt to the cold. The winter is when we return to ourselves to hone in on our true depths and recenter ourselves there. Modern people in their warm homes ignore their true depths. This is unnatural.

Thanks for this! Oh, I meant the double star in the ladle:

By cultivation of the soft, and allowing it to build up into firmness. Sure, one can gather and emit, back and forth. But the strength of the power depends on the strength of the gathering. I'm told real Jin only builds over long periods of time, and transforms over the years.

The way of transcending nature is by uniting with it, and in the very heart of it, harmonizing its duality, so that one may unite even deeper with it. To stress the transcendence, without the process of unification, will lead others to oppose nature rather than harmonizing with it. But opposing nature is to be ruled by nature. The only thing taoists do is harmonize polarity, through following their own living and unfolding path through time. We each have a unique "shape", which presses into the tao in a special way. When we live in harmony we melt into the flow of all around us seamlessly, instead of pushing and shoving our way around. This is simple enough for all to practice, and naturally leads beyond the trap of the modern mind. It is not the grass bending eastward that is unnatural, it is the modern mind's unwillingness to adapt to change that is unnatural. In order to harmonize, the mind must be willing to adapt to change. I hear you say 'It is not the goal of any Daoist Adept to become "one with nature"', and I would rather stress the opposite. It is only when we allow our selves to flow like water, merging with everything, to the very ends of the universe, that we are able to go beyond the universe. It is only when we become one with all that we may go beyond all. True Daoist Adepts don't make waves - I wouldn't believe everything recorded about those with abilities and strange behaviors... they likely missed the memo, IMHO. Causing reactions in people that don't ultimately become dissolved, is only going to create karma.

When the the heart-mind and body-breath are one, such a person has reached a level of attainment that others might place a value upon. At this stage it is very likely one has unlocked various siddhis. For example... if the mind is truly unattached to it's knowledge based perspective, it may freely "see" in all directions instead of just through the eyes. Let alone talking to frogs. In any case, Zhuangzi shares will us the principle of how to balance ourselves and our attainments in the human world, by acting in such a way as to harmonize with others. If others attach too much value to us, we might find ourselves in the position of being controlled by those who see use in the values we display. Thus, if we wish to live out our full lives, we need cultivate appearance in alignment with the expectation of others. By not appearing to have value, others will not be interested in constricting our freedoms. At the same time, the sage may radiate highly refined energy, and do workings on subtle levels, and accomplish much change in the world. This accomplishment appears to most others as having no source, and others may think they accomplished the change on their own, without desiring to seek a source and gain wealth through the source. The fewer attachments others make upon the sage, the more freedom the sage has with which to evolve and carry out their destiny to its fullest extent. All by means of harmonizing yin and yang, in every situation, inside and out.

Tough mainly because people want things now, rather than waiting for the softness to become firmness an the firmness to amass over the course of a couple decades of cultivation work.

Well, the last two stars, on the ladle end, point in the direction of the North Star. In the body, the dipper represents the back of the head, and the North Start the top of the head. Their connection is very important and relates to the very functioning of our "minds". ------------------- In Liu Yiming's Cultivating the Tao, tl Pegradio, there is a chapter on The Ebb and Flow of Celestial Net. Essentially, "Celestial Net" is the last star, the one pointing to Polaris, tiangang. I found it interesting that this is a spectroscopic binary, and along with handle star does not move with the the group of stars in this area. These are the two stars mentioned above by dawei, the "Dark Mechanism" and the Jade Crossbar of the Five Constants, “governs the internal structure of the nine heavens and regulates yin and yang.” As a whole the Big Dipper appears to be referred to as the "Northern Dipper" of 5 dippers: I find it interesting to ponder on these descriptions from religious taoism, as I believe originally these descriptions came from the subtle understandings left behind by sages who worked directly with these forces in their study of life and immortality. In any case, Liu Yiming writes this on the Celestial Net Star: It is interesting to ponder on what one may discover when one cultivates oneself to such levels of refinement.

Many of the "taoists" I know, know nothing of the tao. Yet they practice it naturally. Remember, the tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal tao. Taoist's who attain immortality do so by dissolving polarity, quickly along this path one learns to step into the flow of all things without "stepping on toes", so unless it is a part of one's path to teach the tao, one is likely to go unnoticed, as all changes they affect are presumed to have been self-changed. One finds teachers of the true tao by following ones heart and intuition. One looks by setting the heart with the intent, and knocks by flowing where life leads. One does not look in phone books and knock on doors. The sign posts of teachers are unassuming and their actions humble. They place themselves beneath their students, and thus have nothing to prove to those who come calling and looking for proof. In the practice of taoist internal energy work, one dissolves polarities within one's self. The heart and mind are one such polarity... you can read my reflections on this here. Ultimately the heart-mind is in polarity with the body-breath, and the two must be dissolved into one. We've been discussing this here and here. At first the heart and mind are so noisy and full of attachments that the subtler spiritual side of life is difficult to hear, even when we don't chase it away. Once we learn to quiet down and hear this, we learn to flow with the emotions rather than clinging to them.... as we place the emotions in a greater state of peace, we open the door to greater truth and begin to see with great clarity what lays beyond the illusory world scientists cling to. Beyond any truths, there is the flow of change, and our own unique shape. When through slowing down we begin to understand the unique message each of us faces in the lessons of life, we might gain interest and experience delight in following this path of unraveling these many karmic doors. As we begin to develop greater spiritual clarity and awareness, we become aware of the spirit guides traveling with us. And when we are able to hear them, they can help teach us the particulars we need to know to unravel the higher elements of our destiny. There is always something hiding behind the noise of our particular tunings and sensory attachments, if we only take the time to listen....

A large consciousness is idle and spacey; a small consciousness is cramped and circumspect. Big talk is bland and flavorless; petty talk is detailed and fragmented. We sleep and our spirits converge; we awake and our bodies open outward. We give, we receive, we act, we construct: all day long we apply our minds to struggles against one thing or another - struggles unadorned or struggles concealed, but in either case tightly packed one after another without gap. The small fears leave us nervous and depleted; the large fears leave us stunned and blank. Shooting forth like an arrow from a bowstring: such is our presumption when we arbitrate right and wrong. Holding fast as if to sworn oaths: such is out defense of our victories. Worn away as if by autumn and winter: such is our daily dwindling, drowning us in our own activities, unable to turn back. Held fast as if bound by cords, we continue along the same ruts. The mind is left on the verge of death, and nothing can restore its vitality. Joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, plans and regrets, transformations and stagnations, unguarded abandonment and deliberate posturing - music flowing out of hollows mushrooms of billowing steam! Day and night they alternate before us, but no one knows whence they sprout. That is enough! That is enough! Is it from all of this, presented ceaselessly day and night, that we come to exist? Without that there would be no me, to be sure, but then again without me there would be nothing selected out from it all. This is certainly something close to hand, and yet we do not know what makes it so. If there is some controller behind it all, it is peculiarly devoid of any manifest sign. Its ability to flow and to stop makes its presence plausible, but even then it shows no definite form. That would make it a reality with no definite form. The hundred bones, the nine openings, the six internal organs are all present here as my body. Which one is most dear to me? Do you delight in all equally, or do you have some favorite among them? Or are they all mere servants and concubines? Are these servants and concubines unable to govern each other? Or do they take turns as master and servant? If there exists a genuine ruler among them, then whether we could find out the facts about him or not would neither add to nor subtract from that genuineness. If you regard what you have received as fully formed one and for all, unable to forget it, all the time it survives is just a vigil spent waiting for its end. In the process, you grind and lacerate yourself against all the things around you. Its activities will be over as quickly as a horse galloping by, unstoppable - is it not sad? All your life you labor, and nothing is achieved. Worn and exhausted to the point of collapse, never knowing what it all amounts to - how can you not lament this? What good does it do if others say, "To us he is not dead"? The body has decayed and the mind went with it. Can this be called anything but an enormous sorrow? Is human life always this bewildering, or am I the only bewildered one? Is there actually any man, or anything in a man, that is not bewildered? If we follow whatever has so far taken shape, fully formed, in our minds, making that our teacher, who could ever be without a teacher? The mind comes to be what it is by taking possession of whatever it selects out of the process of alternation - but does that mean it has to truly understand that process? The fool takes something up from it too. But to claim that there are any such things as "right" and "wrong" before they come to be fully formed in someone's mind is this way - that is like saying you left for Yue today and arrived there yesterday. This is to regard the nonexistent as existent. The existence of the nonexistent is beyond the understanding of even the divine sage-king Yu - so what possible sense could it make to someone like me? "But human speech is not just a blowing of air. Speech has something of which it speaks, something it refers to." Yes, but what it refers to is peculiarly unfixed. So is there really anything it refers to? Or has nothing ever been referred to? You take it to be different from the chirping of baby birds. But is there really any difference between them? Or is there no difference? Is there any dispute, or is there no dispute? Anything demonstrated, or nothing demonstrated? How could courses be so obscured that there could be any question of genuine or fake among them? How could words be so obscured that there could be any question of right or wrong among them? Where can you go without it being a course? What can you say without it being affirmable? Courses are obscured by the small accomplishments already formed and completed by them. Words are obscured by the ostentatious blossoms of reputation that come with them. Hence we have the rights and wrongs of the Confucians and Mohists, each affirming what the other negates and negating what the other affirms. But if you want to affirm what they negate and negate what they affirm, nothing compares to the Illumination of the Obvious: There is no being that is not "that." There is no being that is not "this." But one cannot be seeing these from the perspective of "that": one knows them only from "this" [i.e., from one's own perspective]. Thus, we can say: "That" emerges from "this," and "this" follows from "that." This is the theory of the simultaneous generation of "this" and "that." But by the same token, their simultaneous generation is their simultaneous destruction, and vice versa. Simultaneous affirmability is simultaneous negatability, and vice versa. What is circumstantially right is also circumstantially wrong, and vice versa. Thus, the Sage does not proceed from any one of them alone but instead lets them all bask in the broad daylight of Heaven. And that too is only a case of going by the rightness of the present "this." "This" is also a "that." "That" is also a "this." "THAT" posits a "this and a "that - a right and a wrong - of its own. But "THIS" also posits a "this and a "that" - a right and a wrong - of its own. So is there really any "that" versus "this," any right versus wrong? Or is there really no "that" versus "this"? When "this" and "that" - right and wrong - are no longer coupled as opposites that is called the Course as Axis, the axis of all courses. When this axis finds its place in the center, it responds to all the endless things it confronts, thwarted by none. For it has an endless supply of "rights," and an endless supply of "wrongs." Thus, I say, nothing compares to the Illumination of the Obvious. To use this finger to show how a finger is not a finger is no match for using not-this-finger to show how a finger is not a finger. To use this horse to show that a horse is not a horse is no match for using not-this-horse to show that a horse is not a horse. Heaven and earth are one finger. All things are one horse. Something is affirmative because someone affirms it. Something is negative because someone negates it. Courses are formed by someone walking them. Things are so by being called so. Whence thus and so? From thus and so being affirmed of them. Whence not thus and so? From thus and so being negated of them. Each thing necessarily has some place from which it can be affirmed as thus and so, and some place from which it can be affirmed as acceptable. So no thing is not right, no thing is not acceptable. For whatever we may define as a beam as opposed to a pillar, as a leper as opposed the great beauty Xishi, or whatever might be [from some perspective] strange, grotesque, uncanny, or deceptive, there is some course that opens them into one another, connecting them to form a oneness. Whenever fragmentation is going on, formation, completion, is also going on. Whenever formation is going on, destruction is also going on. Hence, all things are neither formed nor destroyed, for these two also open into each other, connecting to form a oneness. It is only someone who really gets all the way through them that can see how the two sides open into each other to form a oneness. Such a person would not define rightness in any one particular way but would instead entrust it to the everyday function [of each being]. Their everyday function is what works for them, and "working" just means this opening up into each other, their way of connecting. Opening to form a connection just means getting what you get: go as far as whatever you happen to get to, and leave it at that. It is all just a matter of going by the rightness of the present "this." To be doing this without knowing it, and not because you have defined it as right, is called "the Course." But to labor your spirit trying to make all things one, without realizing that it is all the same [whether you do so or not], is called "Three in the Morning." What is this Three in the Morning? A monkey trainer was distributing chestnuts. He said, "I'll give you three in the morning and four in the evening." The monkeys were furious. "Well then," he said, "I'll give you four in the morning and three in the evening." The monkeys were delighted. This change of description and arrangement caused no loss, but in one case it brought anger and in another delight. He just went by the rightness of their present "this." Thus the Sage uses various rights and wrongs to harmonize with others and yet remains at rest in the middle of Heaven the Potter's Wheel. This is called "Walking Two Roads." The understanding of the ancients really got all the way there. Where had it arrived? To the point where, for some, there had never existed so called things. This is really getting there, as far as you can go. When no things are there, nothing more can be - added! Next there were those for whom things existed but never any definite boundaries between them. Next there were those for whom there were boundaries but never any rights and wrongs. When rights and wrongs waxed bright, the Course began to wane. What set the Course to waning was exactly what brought the cherishing of one thing over another to its fullness. But is there really any waning verses fullness? Or is there really no such thing as waning versus fullness? In a certain sense, there exists waning versus fullness. In that sense, we can say that the Zhao family are zither players. But in a certain sense, there is no such thing as waning versus fullness. In that sense we can say, on the contrary, that the Zhao family are no zither players. Zhao Wen's zither playing, Master Kuang's baton waving, Huizi's desk slumping - the understanding these three had of their arts flourished richly. This was what they flourished in, and thus they pursued these ares to the end of their days. They delighted in them, and observing that this delight of theirs was not shared, they wanted to make it obvious to others. So they tried to make others understand as obvious what was not obvious to them, and thus some ended their days debating about the obscurities of "hardness" and "whiteness," and Zhao Wen's son ended his days still grappling with his father's zither strings. Can this be called success, being fully accomplished at something? In that case, even I am fully accomplished. Can this be called failure, lacking the full accomplishment of something? If so, neither I nor anything else can be considered fully accomplished. Thus, the Radiance of Drift and Doubt is the sage's only map. He makes no definition of what is right but instead entrusts it to the everyday function of each thing. This is what I call the Illumination of the Obvious. Now I will try some words here about "this." But I don't know if it belongs in the same category as "this" or not. For belonging in a category and not belonging in that category themselves form a single category! Being similar is so similar to being dissimilar! So there is finally no way to keep it different from "That." Nevertheless, let me try to say it. There is a beginning. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-be-a-beginning. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-not-yet-begin-to-be-a-beginning. There is existence. There is nonexistence. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-be-nonexistence. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-not-yet-beginning-to-be-nonexistence. Suddenly there is nonexistence. But I do not-yet know whether "the existence of nonexistence" is ultimately existence or nonexistence. Now I have said something. But I do not-yet know: has what I have said really said anything? Or has it not really said anything? Nothing in the world is larger than the tip of a hair in autumn, and Mt. Tai is small. No one lives longer than a dead child, and old Pengzu died an early death. Heaven and earth are born together with me, and the ten thousand things and I are one. But if we are all one, can there be any words? But since I have already declared that we are "one," can there be no words? The one and the word are already two, and the two and the original unnamed one are three. Going on like this, even a skilled chronicler could not keep up with it, not to mention a lesser man. So even moving from nonexistence to existence we already arrive at three - how much more when we move from existence to existence! Rather than moving from anywhere to anywhere, then, let us just go by the rightness of whatever is before us as the present "this." Now, courses have never had any sealed borders between them, and words have never had any constant sustainability. It is by establishing definitions of what is "this," what is "right," that boundaries are made. Let me explain what I mean by boundaries: There are right and left, then there are classes of things and ideas of the proper responses to them, then there are roles and disputes, then there are competitions and struggles. Let's call these the Eight Virtues! As for the sage, he may admit that something exists beyond the six limits of the known world, but he does not further discuss it. As for what is within the known world, he will discuss it but not express an opinion on it. As for historical events, he will give an opinion but not debate it. For wherever a division is made, something is left undivided. Wherever debate shows one of two alternatives to be right, something remains undistinguished and unshown. What is it? The sage hides it in his embrace, while the masses of people debate it, trying to demonstrate it to one another. Thus I say that demonstration by debate always leaves something unseen. The Great Course is unproclaimed. Great demonstration uses no words. Great humanity is not humane. Great rectitude is not fastidious. Great courage is not invasive. For when the Course becomes explicit, it ceases to be the Course. When words demonstrate by debate, they fail to communicate. When Humanity is constantly sustained, it cannot reach its maturity. When rectitude is pure, it cannot extend itself to others. When courage is invasive, it cannot succeed. These five are originally round, but they are forced toward squareness. Hence, when the understanding consciousness comes to rest in what it does not know, it has reached its utmost. The demonstration that uses no words, the Course that is not a course - who "understands" these things? If there is something able to "understand" them [in this sense], it can be called the Heavenly Reservoir - poured into without ever getting full, ladled out of without ever running out, ever not-knowing its own source. This is called the Shadowy Splendor. Zhuangzi Chapter 2: Equalizing Assessments of Things tl Brook Ziporyn